No Ammonia but off the charts Nitrite (Cycling)

[Jonas Bergkvist]

I am currently doing a fishless cycle with Dr. Tims Ammonium Chloride and Bacteria. Yesterday my Ammonia was down to zero, and my Nitrite test was blood red. I mean almost a little violet - so it was higher than what my test could measure I use RedSeas test kit.

Nitrates is about 50.

I am just going to double check with you guys; so at this point i will wait for Nitrite to go down to zero and do a water change? Is this amount of Nitrite less good when i am cycling my tank? I'm afraid i will somehow ruin my cycle. At the same time i think the bacteria will at some point do their thing and eat up the Nitrite and make Nitrate.

Maybe it's time to add a little more Ammonia and see if it consumes it within 24 hours? Or should i wait for Nitrite = 0? That way i know i am on the right track, because i'm not sure i'm fully cycled without the Nitrite being down to zero.

Some stats for you:
150 gallon with 40g sump
Ph is 8.2
Alk is 7.

Thank you for your input!

 

[homer1475]

While nitrites aren't necessarily toxic in saltwater like they in fresh, I would wait for the nitrites to at least start dropping before adding any inhabitants.

FWIW, the presence of nitrites will show a really high value for nitrates.

I would not add any more ammonia.

 

[Jonas Bergkvist]

While nitrites aren't necessarily toxic in saltwater like they in fresh, I would wait for the nitrites to at least start dropping before adding any inhabitants.

FWIW, the presence of nitrites will show a really high value for nitrates.

I would not add any more ammonia.

Thanks, then i will just wait until the Nitrite is down before i check that the cycle is completed with the help of Ammonia

 

[piranhaman00]

Stop testing for a few days and wait patiently, the patience must start now

NO2 will be 0 soon

 

[brandon429]

If the test kit allows for zero, many won’t. Then we r here till spring break

if the test does allow for zero then in a month w probably be ok


when the timeframe on the bottle of bac has been met, this tank can do a water change and begin. For example, fritz is about two days. Dr tims bottle bac about ten. Brightwell is really slow, a month

having nitrates shows the bottle bac aren’t dead, so by default their instruction timeframes on the label are more accurate than our color test kits. Even the nitrate might be 2-80 based on the report of 50

in the chemistry forum there are posts showing fifty ppm spreads among kits on same sample.

 

[Jonas Bergkvist]

If the test kit allows for zero, many won’t. Then we r here till spring break

if the test does allow for zero then in a month w probably be ok


when the timeframe on the bottle of bac has been met, this tank can do a water change and begin. For example, fritz is about two days. Dr tims bottle bac about ten. Brightwell is really slow, a month

having nitrates shows the bottle bac aren’t dead, so by default their instruction timeframes on the label are more accurate than our color test kits. Even the nitrate might be 2-80 based on the report of 50

in the chemistry forum there are posts showing fifty ppm spreads among kits on same sample.

Do you mean that i can do a water change maybe like in this weekend and then perhaps add a few drops of Ammonia to see if it consumes it in 24h?

I have been testing every day for 18 days now. I agree on the tests might not show zero...
EDIT: I just wanted to say that i don't mind waiting for my tank to be ready

 

[brandon429]

What kind of bottle bac did u use

 

[brandon429]

Oh it’s dr Tims I see/ ten days. Why not run this test:

 

[brandon429]

100% Water Change

So in my previous thread, I had an ammonia issue that was out of hand. As suggested, I did a 100% WC and now i’m wondering when I should start adding fish back. If anyone has suggestions, let me know!

www.reef2reef.com

that's a very specific way to account for test kit drift and still know if a cycle is done or in that case stalled

 

[Jonas Bergkvist]

100% Water Change

So in my previous thread, I had an ammonia issue that was out of hand. As suggested, I did a 100% WC and now i’m wondering when I should start adding fish back. If anyone has suggestions, let me know!

www.reef2reef.com

that's a very specific way to account for test kit drift and still know if a cycle is done or in that case stalled

Thank you, interesting and i will read through it. But the title says change 100% of the water, and i do not have the capacity to change all of it once, only 200 litres in one go.

 

[vetteguy53081]

What test kits are you using as im assuming API with these results ?
As part of the ammonia cycle, if nitrates are up, there has to be likely presence of Ammonia and Nitrite.
Hopefully , you are not testing right after adding bacteria as you may get a false reading. allow 8-12 hours after adding bacteria or performing water change to test.
If high reading persists, you may want to do a good water change , but before that, I would take a water sample to a trusted LFS and have them test for you to verify reading(s).

 

[brandon429]

Oh ha nice


we better modify that part

we are going on the assumption ten days should suffice, so your current levels are ok for pic 1 bc you haven’t recently charged up ammonia


so pic one is without the big water change. Just as the water sits now. That fella had eight ppm we were trying to clear. The main takeaway is that we don’t need zero on a test kit nowadays, that post shows the movement and eventual anemone / fish as proof, after the movement.

if your system will produce a very small rise, then drop, and you’ve met the bottle bac directions=same outcome as J’s

the two other parameters don’t matter, only the ammonia and number of days underwater per directions, those are well-tested depositional timeframes on the bottles. Reefers demanding a hard zero on the test kits is where the noncompliance happens lol but the timeframes still made the base filtration layer, evidenced as some nitrate / handy confirming param but not required to know.

 

[Jonas Bergkvist]

What test kits are you using as im assuming API with these results ?
As part of the ammonia cycle, if nitrates are up, there has to be likely presence of Ammonia and Nitrite.
Hopefully , you are not testing right after adding bacteria as you may get a false reading. allow 8-12 hours after adding bacteria or performing water change to test.
If high reading persists, you may want to do a good water change , but before that, I would take a water sample to a trusted LFS and have them test for you to verify reading(s).

Hi! I have the Red Sea API Reef Care Multi Test Kit I have tested every day for 18 days and yes i think there is probably a little Ammonia left. The tests is yellowish to the tint so i guess near zero or something.

I'm not sure i trust my LFS to be honest, they are kind and all but sometimes i they have the wrong info So i would rather take a test and post it here for example hehe.

As for the Nitrite as i wrote above, is really not Magenta in colour anymore, it's like blood red / almost violet (ish)

I have my test results here:

	Added 30 ml Ammoniak		Added 30 ml Ammoniak			Added 10 ml Ammoniak		15:e November 2020	Dr. Tim: Add fish if zero	Added a pinch of fish food for carbon		Exactly 1 Nitrite	Definitively more than 1 in Nitrite	Definitively more than 1 in Nitrite	Nitrite 5?	23:e November. Nitrit up to 6?	Nitrite violett	Nitrite violett
Day	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Nh3 (Ammoniak)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1,2	0,4	0,2	0
No2 (Nitrit)		0		0	0		0	0,05	0,05	0,2	0,5	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Ph		8,2		8,2	8,2		8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2	8,2
Nitrat														20		50	50	50
Alkalinitet														7

 

[vetteguy53081]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[neo1738]

So I had same experience w Dr Tims. Ammonia did proper up and down, nitrites and nitrates through the roof. I think it's because I would redose Ammonia to make sure the tank could clear an Ammonia load. Either way the nitrites didn't move for a week and about day 21 or so I finally did a 25% water change. After this the nitrites and nitrate dropped like rocks. I think the nitrate high rating was due to nitrites being high. Gave a couple days all being 0 added 1st fish. I did put a cheap Ammonia alert on my tank just to be safer and still reading 0, 4 days after 1st fish.

 

[brandon429]

Jonas' tank is ready he can reef after a large water change. We would not expect all three params to line up/ test kits vary. going off updated cycling rules, and the thirty+ tanks we have on file using them, he can begin. after a big water change to export the wastewater/mixed dosing water.

 

[Reef253]

So I had same experience w Dr Tims. Ammonia did proper up and down, nitrites and nitrates through the roof. I think it's because I would redose Ammonia to make sure the tank could clear an Ammonia load. Either way the nitrites didn't move for a week and about day 21 or so I finally did a 25% water change. After this the nitrites and nitrate dropped like rocks. I think the nitrate high rating was due to nitrites being high. Gave a couple days all being 0 added 1st fish. I did put a cheap Ammonia alert on my tank just to be safer and still reading 0, 4 days after

 

[Reef253]

So wait for day 21 and do 25 % water change